Check Out Ben O.'s LinkedIn Stats (Last 30 Days)

Mecca pulling products out of Myer to focus on DTC has a faint whiff of Nike, circa 2020, about it. I hope I’m wrong.

Very humbled to be in such esteemed company. And on my birthday, no less! Behind the individual acknowledgment sits an unsung team and agency network that truly makes the magic happen. I've been lucky in my career to work alongside superstars like Elsa Beaumont, Phil van Bruchem, Tom Opie, Scott Swindells, Iuri Rusak, Chris Beechey, Chris Maxwell, Marni Crookes, Ben Culligan, Jules Lau and Sam Gray to name but a few. They make me look far better than reality, but big thanks to B&T for the recognition. "Straight Shooter" is the nicest way to describe how most of my annual reviews could be summarised. https://lnkd.in/gh8zVi-f

Lovely honour to be recognised alongside Leon Sammartino and Alaina Cramb as a capability accelerator in 2025 at Mars Petcare ANZ.

VaynerMedia APAC’s latest attempt to reinvent how brands grow in Mi3Australia is emotionally compelling. And empirically weak. I'm a media guy, so let's counter my bias with a few call outs. - There’s huge merit in creator-led content, as multiple studies have shown.  - Organic social can play a powerful internal role beyond consumer reach — rallying customers, partners, and staff around a shared brand story.  - Peter’s also right about the algorithmic shift in how people consume comms. But his “holy trinity” framework feels more like a sales pitch than a new marketing paradigm. A few thoughts: – His argument leans heavily on anecdotes, not data or controlled studies. – The “20% of total budget to organic content” rule is completely arbitrary. – Social virality depends on more than being culturally on the pulse. – Brands rarely make culture — and often lack the licence to join it. By the time they react, the moment’s passed. Brand growth comes from consistency of messaging, not tactically jumping into the latest TikTok challenge. – Feeding the algorithm more content suits platforms, not brands. Organic social isn’t free — and when cheap AI content floods the feed, attention collapses. – Algorithms don’t reward “great content”; they reward emotion and controversy. – “Consumed reach” is a fuzzy metric to say the least. – “Meritocratic algorithms”? That’s marketing bullshit — there’s nothing meritocratic about how platforms prioritise the feed. See above: emotion and controversy win out, every time. But where I really struggle is how the model underplays what really builds brands: Consistency, Distinctiveness, mental availability. Ohh, and good old fashioned reach. Agility matters — but we shouldn’t confuse tactical relevance with strategy. Keen for your take here Tom Goodwin, John James, Jon Bradshaw, Dale W. Harrison, Rob Brittain. https://lnkd.in/gdzyuBBB

It takes a village. Or in this case, a football team. We kicked off the new OneMars/IPG agency relationship today with a two day offsite with our new friends at Zenith Media Australia, Influential Australia, Mars United℠ Commerce ANZ, Prodigious and Weber Shandwick Australia. Marni Crookes, Jules Lau, Bronwyn White, Ana Laskova, Bianca Malcolm and I have some shiny new tools and stellar thinkers to take our plans to lightspeed. Very exciting times for Mars Pet Nutrition ANZ. James Libor Lindsay Barrett Anthony Dean Melodie Nye.

In-housing isn’t a strategy. It’s a choice about where you compete. I was recently asked by a senior procurement lead at a large CPG whether they should bring media in-house. But the real question isn’t “agency vs. in-house.” It’s which setup drives the greatest efficiency, effectiveness, and competitive advantage. Because unless it helps you move faster, perform better, or spend smarter — it’s just assembling IKEA furniture to feel productive. Here’s how I think about it 👇 • I’ve built in-house media teams from scratch and worked with agencies to execute. Each model has trade-offs. Both can work — neither is perfect. • Ad ops and trafficking are critical, but rarely a differentiator. Agencies’ scale, tech, and buying power are hard to replicate — even for big brands. • The bigger danger? When in-housing becomes internal empire-building — built to serve personal agendas, not business outcomes. • Then psychology takes over: – The IKEA effect: we overvalue what we’ve built. – Sunk-cost bias: we cling to it long after it stops working. • Every scaled business needs in-house media expertise — not to replace agencies, but to ensure strategy, investment, and measurement stay truly owned by the business. • Social is the classic low-hanging fruit — familiar, quick to set up, and inflated by familiarity bias. Because everyone uses it personally, it feels intuitive — but that doesn’t make it strategically unique. It’s just easier to buy than BVOD, OLV and Search. In-housing should sharpen performance, not feed egos. The smartest marketers build where it gives them leverage — and buy where it doesn’t. (Image generated by ChatGPT).